David Braine
Weather Forecaster

Alex White, from Devon, asks:

Answer:

Hi Alex, snowfall has now become very rare across the South West, there are some very specific meteorological ingredients to create snowfall and one of them of course is a temperature at or close to freezing which is happening less frequently due to climate change.

With elevation (height above sea level) the temperature falls roughly 2C (35.6F) per 300m (1,000ft) so whilst the temperature in Plymouth is 4C (39.2F) over the tops of Dartmoor (600m) the air is cold enough at 0C (32F) to generate snow, this is why only our moors really see significant snow in the winter time.

We are also surrounded by a relatively warm sea and that keeps our land temperatures significantly higher than other parts of the UK.

Storm Goretti brought 99mph (159km/h) wind gusts to the UK as a rare red "danger to life" warning was issued.

Victoria Graham
BBC Spotlight

BBC Spotlight is coming live from Torcross in Devon tonight - the village that was battered by the winter storms and saw the A379 coastal road partly washed away.

It’s not until you actually stand on the promenade here and see the road cut off you actually believe it.

The pictures have become iconic but it’s very real and this village is literally at the end of the road.

On the programme this evening, we’ll be hearing from the Environment Agency and Devon County Council to find out where are we with what’s being done, who will pay for it and how long people will have to wait for real change.

We’ll also have reports from across the South West as part of our Weather Day outside broadcast.

From North Devon, Cornwall and from the Met Office, which says the storms we’ve seen in the last few months could be a sign of things to come, as our climate changes.

Join the team and I on BBC Spotlight from 18:30.

11-year-old Sam, from Devon, asks:

Answer:

Hi Sam, I have been lucky enough to see a tornado in North America, I was far enough away to be safe but close enough to see the effects of the strong winds and damage afterwards. I was in an area called “Tornado Alley” between Texas and Nebraska.

There are two routes into weather presenting, one is to take a qualified meteorologist (like myself) and teach them the broadcasting skills, and the other is for a broadcaster to be taught enough weather to allow them to present both accurately and confidently.

Kirk England
BBC South West environment and tourism correspondent

Six weeks after part of the A379 at Torcross was washed away, Stokenham residents Yvette Duncan and Laura Seddon said they felt “let down” over the progress being made on repairing the “crucial” coastal road.

“It’s still really sad and for people that live here, it is still very much at the forefront of our minds”, Duncan explained.

I met the friends as they walked along the coast at Slapton, next to the now closed road.

“We feel let down," Duncan continued.

"We’ve known for years this could happen but there seems to be no plan in place."

She said repairs to the road would be “money well spent”.

“We realise this is going to take time and it is not a sprint it’s a marathon but we all really hope the best possible outcome happens, and that is to restore it and get back to how it was," she added.

Devon County Council said it could cost £18m to repair the road and has asked the government to help cover the cost.

The Environment Agency estimates it could cost more than £10m to improve the village sea defences.

In a statement, the Department for Transport said: “We know the storm damage to the A379 is a big shock to residents in Devon, and we are working with the county council as it determines its next steps.

“We are providing over £443 million for roads maintenance in the area over the next four years, along with £667 million across the UK into protecting communities from the sea.”

George Thorpe
South West

Jersey Met says Wednesday was the warmest day of the year so far.

It says the temperature at the Maison St Louis Observatory reached 19.9C (67.82F) during the early afternoon period.

The nice weather also got our BBC Weather Watchers out and about with their cameras.

Image source, Sy

Image source, lily/Weather Watchers

Image source, The Ranger/Weather Watch

Image source, Donna's Paradise/Weather Watchers

A series of warnings for rain were issued by the Met Office after Storm Ingrid and Storm Chandra battered parts of Devon and Cornwall over a few days.

Schools, businesses and pubs were forced to close, people were rescued from their homes and buildings were damaged and forecasters predicted "exacerbated flooding".

They said the likely impact of the rainfall was "higher than normal due to saturated ground and ongoing flooding following Storm Chandra".

The River Otter was among those areas affected, reaching its highest ever recorded level at Ottery St Mary in Devon.

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

Many locations in the South West saw their monthly average rainfall for January, with some locations more than double.

Here are the figures for some of the most badly affected from 1 January to 18 March:

• Cardinham, Cornwall - 542mm. The average for the combined months of Jan/Feb/March is 368mm

• Plymouth, Devon - 533mm. The average for the combined months of Jan/Feb/March Jan/Feb/March is 273mm

• Dartmoor, Devon - 1,209mm. The average for the combined months of Jan/Feb/March is 548mm and its annual average rainfall is 2,000mm

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

Image source, Gilly Gabben

Nigel Tigweel, from Devon, asks:

Answer:

Hi Nigel, whilst advances in weather forecast modelling is now much more detailed (higher resolution) and more accurate for most weather situations, there will be some errors in forecasting because of the more turbulent atmosphere which is a direct result of climate change.

A warmer atmosphere tends to be more chaotic and more difficult to predict in detail. An example could be a weather front bringing rain at a certain time and place, the timing of arrival and clearance is often quite accurate, what is more difficult is the intensity of the rain, the possibility of embedded thunder, and the local topographic effects.

Various weather apps use different sources of forecast data. Some single source, others use a blend of models, some models handle certain weather types better than others - and switching between models is not easy.

The BBC uses a blended model and is regularly updated. As a result I would recommend the BBC weather app.

An artist has launched a project to showcase the thousands of trees that were lost or damaged when Storm Goretti hit Cornwall.

Charlie Thacker, a woodworker living in the county, says he wants to commemorate the significance of the trees in the places they had grown and become part of people's lives.

"I'm collecting lots of stories, either people and their connection to the tree or the significance of what the tree was used for," he explains.

Read more: The man turning storm-damaged trees into art

Zhara Simpson
South West

A mother says she and her family are still dealing with emotional "trauma" after a tree smashed into their home during Storm Goretti.

Emily Hotchkiss and her two young children were moved into temporary accommodation by Cornwall Housing following the storm damage in Falmouth on 8 January.

The family have since found a permanent home, but Hotchkiss says being forced to move several times in a few weeks was stressful for them.

Hotchkiss says she felt "inches from death" when the tree fell - the council has since cut down all the trees outside the property.

She says: "I haven't had time to think about what could have happened and at some point it will hit me.

"I will never ever forget the 8th of January."

George Thorpe
South West

Business owners based near the partially collapsed A379 between Slapton and Torcross, in Devon, say they have joined forces to help each other out.

Cathy Sanders, who runs the Tradesman's Arms pub in Stokenham, says about 70 local business have come together and have been putting signs up to let them know where is open.

“We need people to know we’re open for Easter," she tells John Acres at Breakfast on BBC Radio Devon.

“But it’s also important for people to know how to get to us because if you look on your sat-nav, it takes you all through these little lanes... they can’t get to anywhere.”

She says businesses need to be proactive while the repairs are organised.

“The road’s going to take some time and if we just sit back and feel sorry for ourselves, nothing is going to happen and we’ll lose businesses," Sanders says.

Prof Gerd Masselink, from the University of Plymouth, has been tracking changes along the coastline for decades to help predict what will happen in future.

He says erosion experienced in Devon following powerful winter storms will "become increasingly common".

"So, we're going to see increased flooding, we're going to see erosion on beaches that used to be stable. We're going to see increased erosion at beaches that are already eroding," he says.

"We can't keep defending coastlines for the next 20, 30, 40 years.

"Unless we start casting the whole coast in concrete, we have to start retreating."

Read more: How winter storms are rapidly reshaping our coastline

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

David, from Cornwall, asks:

Answer:

Hi David, Cornwall has a unique geographical position, sticking out into the Atlantic and will often face the full force of a gale as it moves in.

Most of our weather (about 70%) originates in the Atlantic and travels from west to east, storms are often at their most potent in the friction-less environment out at sea. Hitting Cornwall first we can often get some of the strongest winds (and most likely it’s Scilly that has the strongest of all) as the winds travel over the more bumpy land and friction takes effect the winds are moderated often by as much as 20mph (32.2km/h) by the time they reach Somerset.

George Thorpe
South West

A coastal adviser with the Environment Agency in Devon says the department is looking to secure about £10m of funding for sea defences in Torcross.

Martin Davies tells Caroline Densley on BBC Radio Devon it is a significant amount of money and the logistics of getting the work done will be "challenging".

He says it is hoped a decision on the funding will be made in the next few weeks.

“I’m cautiously optimistic to what we can do this year," Davies says.

“The obvious solution is when you look down the coast at Beesands, there’s a lot of rock in front of the defences.

“So what we’re trying to do is build a business case and trying to do as much work as we can this year on the assumption that we do get the money approved, which is what we’re working towards.”

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

Image source, BBC Weather

James Scrimshaw, from Devon, asks:

Answer:

Hi James, this is a probability of precipitation (% chance), and this ranges from 0% (no chance at all) to 100% (it will be wet).

So, what does a 20% chance of rain actually mean? It means that out of 100 situations with similar weather, it should rain on 20 of those, and not rain on 80. In a nutshell, it means that, while you may get some rain, it's much more likely (but not certain) to stay dry.

The probabilities are given for the location chosen, and thus are valid for that location only so you may notice the probabilities changing in the short-term (next two to three hours) as the forecast is constantly updated with new information.

This gives you the chance to spot when, for example, a shower may be approaching your location, as the probabilities will tend to rise.

Image source, Getty Images

Storm Goretti flattened thousands of trees across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly when it hit south-west England on 8 January.

Simon Hocking, lead ranger for the National Trust in west Cornwall, says the high winds could have weakened trees in the region.

"[The trees have] been buffeted by the winds and their root plates moved," he says.

"Future storms mean those are vulnerable."

Read more: After Storm Goretti, how will Cornwall restore its woodlands?

Kirk England
BBC South West environment and tourism correspondent

I am back in Torcross, the Devon coastal village which hit the headlines after part of the "vital" A379 coastal road was washed away during the winter storms.

The huge impact of the devastating weather is still clear to see - from boarded up windows to the huge crater in the road.

Locals say they feel like they are on the "front line" and worry about what comes next.

Will the road be repaired? Will more be done to improve the village's sea defences?

The cost of repairing the road is estimated to be about £18m. Improving the sea defences, at least £10m.

The authorities say they are considering next steps.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden has described Torcross as being the "canary in the coal mine" - a test case for how we deal with vulnerable coastal communities in a changing climate.

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

Image source, PA Media

Louise Frost, from Cornwall, asks:

Answer:

Hi Louise, the peninsula of Cornwall does have some unique features that can give big variations of weather. In the spring, summer, and autumn for instance the effects of sea breezes converging on the land can create a line of cloud inland (and showers) while the coast remains fine and dry.

Because Cornwall often has the first bit of high ground as Atlantic air hits the UK, its that high ground that gets the low cloud and the drizzle, while again on the coast it is often drier and sunnier. One of the sunniest places is Bude where the effects of Bodmin Moor give more dry and fine weather than other areas.

Kate Jennings
Jersey

Jersey Met's senior forecaster says the warming climate will lead to more rain annually.

Matt Winter tells BBC Radio Jersey the island had its wettest February on record with 180mm (7in) - more than double the normal amount for the month.

He said Guernsey had its sixth wettest February with 160mm (6.3in).

Winter says average temperatures are rising too and this will contribute to rainfall figures rising.

“The weather does tend to balance out to a certain degree, but I think in a warming climate with projected climate change, we are expected to see rainfall totals increase on an annual basis gradually as we progress through the next century," Winter says.